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Blood pressure measurement has two components: systolic and diastolic. Systolic pressure is taken when the heart is contracting to pump blood; diastolic pressure is taken when the heart is resting between beats. In the usual blood pressure reading, the systolic measurement is given first and is the higher of the two.Normal blood pressure is a systolic measurement of 120—140, and when the systolic pressure is 160 or higher, then hypertension exists. Systolic pressure between 140 and 160 indicates borderline hypertension.

1. Which of the following is NOT true about systolic blood pressure?

(A) It is taken during the contraction of the heart.(B) It is usually given first in a blood pressure reading.(C) A normal systolic measurement is 120 – 140.(D) Hypertension exists when the systolic pressure is below 140.

2. Which of the following is NOT stated about diastolic pressure?

(A) It is one of the two components of blood pressure measurement.(B) It is taken when the heart is resting.(C) It is lower than systolic pressure.(D) A diastolic measurement of 140 is normal.

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 3 - 4)

In the 1960s, as space travel was becoming a subject of much discussion, Pan American Airlines began receiving some fairly unusual requests for flight information. People began making requests to be on the first flight that Pan Am made to the Moon.On a whim, Pan Am started a waiting list for the first flight to the Moon. Similar requests have come to Pan Am over the years, and Pan Am has responded by adding thenames of the requesters to the list. Unfortunately for Pan Am, the original company is no longer in business, and it never got to the Moon. However, when it went out of business, it had a waiting list of more than 90,000 names for its first lunar flight.

3. All of the following are mentioned about Pan American Airlines, EXCEPT that

(A) it started business in the 1960s(B) it received requests for its first flight to the Moon(C) it kept some people on a long waiting list(D) it went out of business

4. Which of the following is NOT true about Pan Am’s Moon flights?

(A) People asked Pan Am about its flights to the Moon.(B) Pan Am kept a waiting list for its Moon flights.(C) Pan Am never really made any Moon flights.(D) Pan Am’s waiting list had only a few names on it.

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 5-8)

The tunnel trees in Yosemite Valley are an amazing attraction to people who visit there. The tunnel trees are huge trees, giant redwoods, which have had tunnels carved in them, and cars can actually drive through some of the trees. The fact that the trees are large enough to have cars drive through them should give you some indication of just how big the trees are. There are currently two existing tunnel trees in Yosemite Valley. One of them is called the “Dead Giant.” This is just the stump, or bottom part, of a much larger tree. The hole was cut through the base of the tree in 1878, and stagecoaches used to drive through it. Today the Dead Giant still exists, but the stagecoaches do not. Passenger cars can and do drive through the 10-foot-wide opening in the tree stump.The other existing tunnel tree is the 230-foot high California Tree, which had a hole carved through it in 1895. This tree is no longer open to the public, so it is not possible to take a car through it. Unfortunately, a third tunnel tree no longer exists. The Wawona Tunnel Tree was a 2,100-year-old tree which was carved in 1881. A terrible snowstorm in 1969 caused this ancient giant of a tree to fall.

5. Which of the following is NOT true about the tunnel trees in Yosemite Valley?

(A) They are trees with holes cut in them.(B) They are giant redwoods.(C) Three tunnel trees currently exist.(D) Cars have driven through some of them.

6. All of the following are stated about the Dead Giant, EXCEPT that

(A) it is still a tunnel tree today(B) it is just the stump of a tree(C) it was cut less than a century ago(D) it has a 10-foot opening

7. Which of the following is NOT true about the California Tree?

(A) Its tunnel still exists.(B) Its tunnel is 230 feet high.(C) Its tunnel was cut in 1895.(D) Cars are not allowed to go through it.

8. All of the following are true about the Wawona Tunnel Tree, EXCEPT that

(A) it does not exist anymore(B) the tree lived for more than 2,000 years(C) the tunnel tree was destroyed in a snowstorm(D) the tunnel was destroyed in 1881

PASSAGE FOUR (Questions 9-12)

When the typewriter was first invented, its keys were arranged alphabetically. This made the keys easy to find. However, this arrangement also caused the bars of the machine to jam, or get stuck. To solve this problem, a new letter arrangement was introduced by Christopher Latham Scholes in 1872. His system, the standard keyboard system, is still used on typewriters today. He arranged the letters in such a way that the bars hit the inked ribbon from opposite directions as much as possible. This resulted in far less jamming than had occurred with the alphabetical models.

9. The main topic of this passage is

(A) the invention of the typewriter(B) a problem and solution concerning the early typewriter(C) how to write a letter on the typewriter(D) why the keys stick on today’s typewriter

10. According to the passage, on the first typewriters

(A) the keys were in alphabetical order(B) the keys were hard to find(C) the bars on the machine never jammed(D) Scholes’s system worked quite well

11. Which of the following is NOT true about the system invented by Scholes?

(A) It was introduced in 1872.(B) It is still used today.(C) It became the standard system.(D) It was alphabetical.

12 The passage indicates that under Scholes’s system, the bars hit the ribbon

(A) in alphabetical order(B) from opposite directions(C) and caused the keys to jam(D) in the same way as they had on the original typewriter

PASSAGE FIVE (Questions 13-15)

Desert tundra, or cold desert, occurs on the Arctic edges of North America, Europe, and Asia. In these areas the temperatures are almost always freezing, and they cause an environment in which plant life is virtually impossible. The existence of ice rather than water for the majority of the year means that vegetation does not have enough moisture for growth to take place. During the short period of time when the temperatureincreases enough for the ice to melt, there is generally a large volume of water. Too much water and not enough drainage through the frozen subsoil make it difficult for plants to grow.

13. Which of the following is the best title forthe passage?

(A) Where Desert Tundra Is Found(B) The Weather in the Arctic(C) The Effect of Desert Tundra on Plant Life(D) The Variety of Plant Life in Desert Tundra

14. According to the passage, desert tundra is found

(A) throughout North America, Europe, and Asia(B) in Antarctica(C) on the Arctic borders of the northern continents(D) at the North Pole

15. According to the passage, what makes plant life almost impossible in areas of desert tundra during most of the year?

(A) Excessive water on the plants(B) The frozen state of the water(C) The increase in temperature(D) The lack of ice